I was born on July 15, 1970, and right after my birth my mother gave me to Sisters of Charity in Bien Hoa. She would come and visit me until I was about 6 years old. According to the Sister that took care of me, my mother was working for the Americans in Long Binh. There she met my father, Jeff Hoffman, a soldier stationed at Long Binh Base.

My father intended to marry my mother, but in 1974 for unknown reasons he stopped seeing my mother. My mother told the Sister in charge of me that my father was a lieutenant when he came to Vietnam but was promoted to captain. After returning to America my father lived in Ohio. He was then sent to Germany for 3 years. From that point on my mother did not receive any more news from my father.

My mother worked for the Officers Mess, in Long Binh from 1966 until 1972. During my stay at the Charity House, my mother would come to see me, from time to time, but she never told me she was my mother. For me, the Sister in Charity House was my mother, because she loved me and took care of me.

When I was 8 years old, just before I went to a foster father, the Sister in the Charity House disclosed a secret by telling me that the woman who came to see me was my mother.

While living at the Charity House the sisters only taught me prayers. I started getting some schooling when I went to live with my foster father in Suoi Nho, Dong Nai. In 1980 my foster father died and some months later my foster mother also died. As for my foster parents house, it was confiscated by the local authorities, because it was built on common land.

Having no one to rely on I went around the neighborhood offering my services for a bowl of rice. When I was 12 years old, I went to work in the rice fields. From that point on I knew what racial discrimination was. People in the streets called me "dirty abandoned American". Most of the people didn't want to hire me and did their best to keep me out of work.

In 1981 I met Huan, my husband. He is also AmerAsian, coming from Quang Ngai area. He delivered clean water to the market. He was kind and gentle and he liked me. I fell in love with him and by the end of 1990 we got married without asking for a marriage certificate. We did not have a family book, and no ID cards. One day a friend of mine agreed to write our names in his family book.

My mother's name is Nguyen Thi Tam. My mother lived in North Vietnam and she came to South Vietnam in 1954 with the Sisters from the Charity House. I still have a picture of my mother and some day I hope to meet her again. Like an orphan I need and want a parent's affection, so I call any older man or woman who is nice to me, mom or dad. My husband and I fear our children will also know poverty and hardship as we did.

In 1993 my husband went to Bien Hoa to get a job as a porter, delivering goods to the market. Shortly after that he was converted to Catholicism. His god father liked him so much that he invited our family to move to Bien Hoa and live with him. In 1999 I went back to our former residence in Suoi Nho to get our family book. In 2003 the house book was made for our house in Bien Hoa.

I have very little schooling, only through grade 3. Because of this it is very difficult to find a job. Right now I stay at home and take care of the children. My eldest son, Le Tam Sang, was born on January 2, 1992. My second child, Le Thi Ngoc Hien, a daughter, was born on April 21, 1995. My third child, Le Ngoc Huyen Dieu, a daughter was born on January 22, 2003.

I am eager to find my mother so she can see her grandchildren. When I am permitted to immigrate to America I will look for my father also. Thanks to my father I am a pretty woman and I am also happy to have smart children. Now, I can tell you I am proud to be AmerAsian. In 1988 or 1989, someone came to see me and proposed to help me in applying for a visa to the USA. Fearing that this man was trying to fool us, we decided not to do anything.

In 1999, one of my friends told me to come to the American Consulate to get precise information about the program. Later I came again to Number 4 Le Duan Street. The people there told me to make a statement with information about my AmerAsian status.

I wrote this document and brought it back to the Consulate. The following day an American Official at the Consulate, through an interpreter, asked me about my ethnic origin. He also asked me to give him copies of my ID card, my family book and my wedding certificate. As I didn't have the required documents, I had to return home and wait.

When I finally got my family book, my wedding certificate and my children's birth certificates, I wrote a new application and gave all the papers to the American Consulate in Saigon. In 2002 the American Consulate asked me to come in for identification. After asking me some questions the American Official told me to go home and wait for the results of the investigation. On the 17th of March, 2005, I was told to go and get a passport. I am still waiting for it.

My husband is also an AmerAsain, so he made application for himself and our family, Case Number V803748. Three months after submitting the application my husband got a request to come to the American Consulate for a pre-interview. People there said that my husband was really an AmerAsian and they asked him to come the following day to get the L.O.I. and the A.C. Form.

When we came to the Immigration Services of Dong Nai Police to apply for a passport we learned that they have stopped issuing passports to AmerAsians. They sent us to Immigration Services in HCM City to do the paperwork. People there told us that we had to go back to our local town to apply for the documents. We were so disappointed that we decided not to think or do anything about this matter anymore.

In 2003 a man proposed to help us with the paperwork, provided we give him 30 million VND. So to get such a sum of money we had to borrow it from someone and give our house as collateral. Unfortunately the man disappeared after receiving our money.

After working very hard we have saved some money. In 2003 with the sponsorship of my Vicar, we could buy a piece of land to build a house on, and now this house is ours. My godmother, who is now living in America, gave us $200 when she returned to Vietnam for the first time in 2000.

In 2004, she came back again and this time she gave us $3,000, or 45 million VND. We have borrowed 25 million more to buy a light truck so my husband can carry foods for merchants with this vehicle. All of my family is very grateful to this godmother, and we do want to look after her when she gets old and has to retire.

I still want to go to America. I want to meet my father, but if I cannot find him it will be OK. I am sure my children will have a better life in America. I believe that the American people and the government will give us opportunities to build a successful life.